Water cooler



June 27, 1950 Filed Nov. 21, 1947 5. O. MORRISON WATER COOLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 27, 1950 s, MORRISON 2,512,961

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WATER COOLER Filed Nov. 21, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 27, 1950 s. o. MORRISON WATER COOLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 21, 1947 RECON/ Q555019 Patented June 27, 1950 2,512; 961= WATER COOLER;-

Samuci 0.-.Mot-risom Pine Ridge-,Par, assignor to.

Sunroc Refrigeration Company, Dover, Del., a corporation. 011, Delaware A Application-November 21, 1947; Serial No; 7873405 4: Claims. (Cl. 621-141) My invention relates to water coolers or drink ingfountains which are used alone or: in: combi-n'ation" with other refrigeration devices;

A purpose-of my i-nvention is to improve the utility or'a water-cooler front;

A further purpose is to provide a: water'dispenser and preferably also a sump in the front of a water cooler which-are self-#containedi within the'front.

A furt'her'purposeis tb divi'd'e the upper por tion of" the front of a water cooler into a'plurality of laterally spaced portibns or'panels, pref erably recessingsom'e-or'all of" the panels, and conveniently mounting awaterdispenser and sump in ones'uch' recessedpanel; a: drinking cup dispenser in another; and a drinli-ing cup disposal in or accessible through another panel;

A furtherpurpcse istoprovide a bottom: recess inth e front of a water'co'oler and'to draw off the drainage water from the sump into a drainage. Water compartment which will? be drainedthrough a cocleaccessib1e through the bottom recess? A- further purpose is to permit disch'argea of waste cups from a: cup-receptor. through the bottom" recess;

A further purpose? is tit-conceal 1 the: drainage cock and'dischar'ge of 'th'e cup receptor: behind a grille whi'chmay conveniently provide"; inlet of "air forcooling of the refrigerationisysteml A further purpose iszto manufacture a water cooler or; drinking fountain cabinet with sides separate-iiom the .frontj: tor-connectithe? front at its edges to the sides Whibhr. preferably: extend around and are integral-with the'zba'c'k and to permit' selective-inner ch'a-ngexof z difierentfro'nts to conform with the: ornamentation desired.

A further purpose is to provideaazreinova'b'le front: foru a; water; cooler cabinet: which; has laterally. spaced'ipanels iat its'aupper portion, some at leastuofs; whic'hzarelrecessed, andzonesofcwhich reeessedc-panel's includeswa wateradispenser and preferabl'y'ralsma summand. to:provideav bottom recess in the front in which an operator; for the water; dispenser is located;- and. preferably also access-is providedwto;a;drainage;coclc.

Further" purposes appear in the specification and in the-claimsap In-the: drawings Ithave chosentoillustrate one only of the; numerous embodiments. of which my invention. appears, choosing. the. form. shown from..the .standpoints of convenience in. illustration,.' satisfactory. operation and clear demonstratitinhof the principles'linvolved;

Figure Lis afi ontf' elevation of the improved water cooler ofthe' present invention.

Figure 2 is: a: section" of "Figure l; on. the line 2. Z'.

Figure. 31 is areduced' top"'plan*- view with the lid construction: broken-z away; to illustrate? the interior;

Figure-'4; is a reduced-front elevationiwitrrthe grille brokenavvay toshow.'the interiorconstruc tion:v

Figures a: rightizside elevation: ofzIEigurea 4-."

Figure. 6: isiaarearz' elevation: offEigure 42 Figured?is azfrontelevationof theic'upmceptor.

Figure -8 ;is: a diagrammaticview (if-the refrigeeration unit;

In. prior art water? cooler." constructions the dispenser has usually 'beenr inf'the formzofr bubblr or faucetonboth locatedf'au'the top. This? has, rendered access toithe. iiiteri'or. verydifficult; due to the-:fact'rthat theitop :c'ouldi notibeopenedt and interior'compartments could: not be entered; in this manner. Auxiliary devices such" as cupdispensers" and": cup receptors" have either been mounted on the outside, or in" the casei off' the receptors provided'ih theform-of'separate receptacles" at the base of the cooler:'. Arrangements of this character-"have beemundoubtedly expensive from thestandpoint:of cleaningi's'erv ices in offices and the: like,- have been unattractive, and constant sources or danger: to": the user through striking against or 'falling' ov'er separate accessories. In addition such pri'or artarrange' ments have been unattractive; andin some cases have necessitatedshipment of coolers having protruding elements, which are vulnerable from the standpoint of damag'e'. I

In accordance with theipresent invention these d'ifiiculti'es have been overcome without-greatly complicating the construction or adding'to-the expense. A very 'novel and useful-water cooler front hasbeen designed which entirely fieesthe top for access intointernal compartments; q

Certain aspects of the device hereiiiz.described but not claimed formthe subj ect matteroff-the copending patent application of Orville C. Mor rison, Samuel 0. Morrison; John G. Whrw'ein and Earl Gott,' Serial N6. 6,9 24; filed February 7; 1948'; for Refrigeratorand Water Cooler.

The cabinet 20 is primarily of rectangular form having a top 2|, bottom 22; front 23,'rear 24and sides 25. The f'ront'is bent around and joined at' 23' to the sides which arepreferably integral with the back;

The front is dividedessentially' int'o an upper portion 26 primarily concerned'witli dispensing; an intermediate. portion Z'I'and -a bottom portion 28. p

The upper portion is suitably subdivided into are suitably deeply recessed I seen in Figure 2.

a left hand panel 30, a middle panel 3| and a While the bulk of the cabinet will conventionally be formed of metal, the upper "or dispensing portion 26 of the front and desirably the entire front as shown may desirably be made of plastic from an integral piece as shown in Figure 2. The outer edges are conveniently turned around at 35 to join the rest of the wrapper of the cabinet as shown in Figure 2 The central panel 3| and one side panel 30 In the central panel 3| the recess conveniently at 36 and 3'! as best 1 tapers inwardly from the 'top' at 46 approxi-' mately half way down to reach the maximum 1' depth at the point of mounting the dispenser 1 4| in the back of the recess. 'The dispenser 4| may beof any suitable type, but will preferably be a faucet operated by a foot pedal 42 in a bottom recess 43 extending deep into the lower portion 28. The foot pedal ispivoted at 44 and pivotally connected by a pull rod 45 to the opercup dispenser 52 comprising a support and operating mechanism 53, a cover 54, an operating lever 55 and showing'a cup at 56. Thebottom of the recess 31 isconvenientlysloped outwardly at 51 to aid in guiding a cup'outwardly.

A cupreceptor is provided in cooperation with the right hand panel 32. A; recess 60 through i this panel is closed. by a swinging closure 6| suitably hinged at thetop at 62. recess 60 and in line therewithisprovided a cup Behind the receptor 63 conveniently-of tubulargform and suitably. open at the .top. The bottomis closed iently located behind an ornamental grille T0 in the middle portion 21 of the front, and is accessible for removalby reaching up through the open top of bottom recess 43. The fronts will 3 be readily changed to permit various ornamentations of the grille or of the other portions of the fronts, and variouscolorings of acrylic phenolic or other plastics, or ofenamelled or painted steel, aluminum or other metal. The cup receptor will preferably be rigidly fastened in place but may. bebodily removable if desired. 7

Drainage from the sump 5| is provided through a drainageopening H and aconnection 72 to a waste water compartment located below the sump and conveniently behind the conveniently drained by a cook 14 accessible through the open top of the bottom recess 43.

As explained in connection with the copending application above'referred to, the connection 12 should besufiiciently tight so that 'in case of overfilling the waste water compartment .13, waste water will back up and show in the sump. Also shown .in said copending application, a suitable valve 15 may be located in a pipe connection 76 from a water cooling compartment 11 to the dispenser tocut off water from the dispenser under action of a float arm grille; The waste water compartment 13 is 1 I both compartments.

of the water cooling unit and refrigeration unit when the water rises too high in the waste water compartment.

The water cooling compartment 11 is conveniently located in one side of the top portion 26, the other side 8| being conveniently occupied by a refrigerator for storage of food or deep freezing, suitably provided with ice cube trays 82 on cooling unit shelves 83 and 84.

The water cooling compartment and the refrigerator compartment are conveniently separated by a partition 85. An inner lid 86 hinged at 81 covers the water cooling compartment alone and an outer lid 90 hinged at 9| covers The entire outside space are insulated at 92.

Inlet of water, either suitably poured in or from a pressure source, is provided at 93 suitably controlled by a valve 94 operated by a float arm 951:0 prevent overzfilling. If desired water may be poured in by simply opening the lids. As explained in the copending application, each of the compartments TI and 8| isindependently provided with sterile lamps 96 and 91 on sockets I Olland disconnected on opening the outer lid by a switch IN. 1

Complete drainage of the water cooling compartment may be provided by a pipe I62 into the waste water compartment and controlled by a separate valve I03 accessible through the open top of bottom recess. 43. I

It will be noted that the water dispenser is located rather high with respect to the bottom of the water cooling compartment so that a body of water will remain in that compartment at all times to aid in cooling. I

The bottom of the refrigeration-unit is drained at I64 through a trap I05 to the waste water compartment.

The'refrigeration, mechanism employed suitably consists of an electric motor I06 drivinga comlpressor I01. Heated compressed refrigerant passes through a pipe I [0 through a condenser ||l, preferably of static type and located in a flue I I2 open from top to bottom and having an air inlet H3 at the bottom and an air outlet vI M at. the top. Air circulation through the flue is also aided by taking in the air through the grille'in the front and passing itvinto the flue through an opening 24 in the back. From the condenser cooled refrigerant passes through a metering device 5 such as a constrictor or expansion valve, and thence to cooling units H6 and. Ill under the respective shelves 83 and 84, and thence in series therewith to a cooling unit I20 suitably at one side in the water cooling compartment.

The refrigerant from the last cooling unit returns to the'compressor through a, pipe I2l'. The compressor is thermostatically controlled by a thermostat switch unit I22. The motor and compressor may desirably be a hermetic unit as shown at I23. 1

It will be evident that by the present invention I have succeeded in locating all the dispensing elements in the upper part of the front and behind the outer edge of the front so that perfectly straight lines are presented at "the upper portion as seen from the side in Figure 5. The mechanism is therefore ideal not only for shipment, but also from the standpoint of cleaning and arrangement in an office or other'point of use, and it presents IlOIIGiQI-f thesafety hazards present when cup dispensers and cup receptors Were used.

In view of m invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such insofar as. they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a water cooler, a cabinet of generally rectangular front having a bottom recess, an intermediate grille and an upper dispensing and disposal portion subdivided laterally into three portions, at least two of which are recessed inwardly, a water cooling compartment in the upper portion of the cabinet, water cooling means in heat transfer relation with the water cooling compartment, a mechanical refrigeration unit connected to the [Water cooling means, a water dispenser having water connection to the water cooling compartment and located in the recess of one of the recessed rportions above the bottom thereof, a sump in the bottom of said recess, a waste water compartment below the sump and connected thereto, and a drain cock for the waste water compartment behind the grille and accessible through the bottom recess.

2. A water cooler cabinet including a top, back and side walls and a separate front secured at its edges to the side walls having at its upper portion a plurality of panels, at least some of which are recessed, a water dispenser in one of the recessed panels, walls forming a bottom recess and an operator for the water dispenser in the bottom recess.

3. In a water cooler, a cabinet having a front, a mechanical refrigeration unit including a cooling unit within the cabinet, a water cooling compartment within the cabinet, in heat transfer relation with the cooling unit, the upper porfront secured thereto and including a panel in its upper portion and walls forming a recess at the bottom thereof, a water dispenser mounted in the panel, a sump at the bottom of the panel, a waste [water storage compartment below the sump connected to the srunp behind the front, a drain cock ifOl the waste water storage compartment behind the front and accessible through the bottom recess and an operator for the water dispenser accessible in the bottom recess.

SAMUEL O. MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Peirce Mar. 28, 1893 Baur Nov. 16, 1915 Franklin Sept. 16, 1919 Bright Oct. 3, 1922 Schilling Oct. 14, 1924 Hull June 27, 1931 Hull Oct, 6, 1931 Hait May 2, 1944 Polsen et al July 25, 1944 Smith Dec. 9, 1947 Smith June 22, 1948 Number 

